question

The various attitudes that citizens possess toward political issues, events, and people are called

answer

public opinions

question

A political ideology is best defined as

answer

a cohesive set of beliefs that form a general philosophy about the government

question

Liberalism and conservatism are good examples of

answer

political ideologies

question

The difference between a political value and a political attitude is that

answer

values are basic principles while attitudes are specific preferences

question

The process by which underlying political values are formed is known as

answer

political socialization

question

Which of the following statements about agencies of socialization is incorrect?

answer

An individual's religion has no impact on their political views

question

The term gender gap refers to

answer

differences in voting behavior between men and women

question

One who supports women's reproductive rights and opposes state involvement with religious institutions would be best described as a(n)

answer

liberal

question

Conservatives are more likely than liberals to support

answer

school prayer

question

______ is the core political value most highly prized by American conservatives.

answer

Liberty

question

The United States is a nation without political ideologies.

answer

false

question

Most Americans are unified in their belief in the principles of liberty, equality, and democracy.

answer

false

question

Less than 50 percent of Americans believe that gay Americans should have equal employment rights.

answer

false

question

Families, social groups, and schools are important institutions where people are politically socialized.

answer

true

question

During the formation of an individual's initial political orientation, the influence of family counts for very little.

answer

false

question

Differences in opinion can be influenced by one's gender.

answer

true

question

Levels of education have not been shown to affect one's political opinions.

answer

false

question

Liberal and conservative ideologies are clear and well-defined doctrines of thought.

answer

false

question

Political ideologies do not always provide us with a clear opinion on particular policies.

answer

true

question

Think tanks are not usually important actors in developing and spreading political ideas.

answer

false

question

The main problem with voting as a form of political participation is

answer

that citizens cannot communicate very much information by only casting a ballot

question

What percentage of eligible voters participated in the 2008 presidential election?

answer

62%

question

Which of the following statements accurately describes the percentage of Americans voting in presidential elections since 1960?

answer

The percentage of Americans voting in presidential elections dropped significantly after 1960 but has been increasing in recent years

question

The American political community is defined as

answer

those who are eligible to vote and participate in American political life

question

Which of the following is NOT a non-electoral form of political activity?

answer

voting

question

What is the main difference between voting and lobbying?

answer

Unlike voting, lobbying involves an attempt to directly influence a government official

question

When Mothers Against Drunk Driving started raising awareness for their cause by distributing a newsletter and giving speeches at the meetings of local community groups, it was engaged in

answer

public relations

question

Which of the following was not an important part of the movement to expand civil rights for African Americans?

answer

Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)

question

What is one reason that political parties and politicians view Latinos as a critically important group?

answer

The Latino population in the United States is large and rapidly growing

question

What tendency of Americans did nineteenth-century writer Alexis de Tocqueville identify as distinctive of our democratic culture?

answer

the tendency to form associations

question

Since the 1800s, the American political community has become narrower and less inclusive.

answer

false

question

Voter registration was instituted to make it harder to vote.

answer

true

question

Young people are more likely to participate in politics than older people.

answer

false

question

Education is not a good predictor of who participates in politics.

answer

true

question

Religious groups have acted as important institutions of political mobilization over the past two decades.

answer

false

question

Women are more likely than men to vote for Republicans.

answer

false

question

Latino voters have traditionally voted Democratic.

answer

true

question

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) led the organized protests against the civil rights movement and desegregation.

answer

false

question

Poll taxes and literacy tests were used by southern states to prevent African Americans from voting

answer

true

question

Many states used to have property requirements for those wanting to vote.

answer

true

question

Which famous American, in his farewell address, encouraged his fellow citizens to shun partisan politics?

answer

George Washington

question

Which of the following is the best description of a political party?

answer

an organization that tries to influence the government by getting its members elected to office

question

Internal mobilization occurs when

answer

conflicts within the government create divided factions that try to mobilize popular support

question

The establishment of the Republican Party is a good example of

answer

external mobilization

question

Which of the following parties originated from internal mobilization?

answer

the Jeffersonian Party

question

The program of Reconstruction after the Civil War was led by the ______ Party.

answer

Republican

question

The New Deal coalition was severely strained and ultimately broken apart by

answer

the Vietnam War and the issue of civil rights

question

"Me too" Republicanism refers to

answer

the tendency of Republican politicians during the New Deal to support popular programs such as Social Security rather than advocate alternative policies

question

Which of the following is NOT an argument in favor of establishing a multiparty system in the United States?

answer

No state has ever tried a multiparty system in the United States before

question

A party's ______ contains its philosophy, principles, and policy positions.

answer

platform

question

The first political parties in the United States were the Democratic and the Republican.

answer

false

question

George Washington believed that the establishment of the two-party system would act as a bulwark of liberty for the United States.

answer

true

question

America's first national parties were the result of internal mobilization.

answer

true

question

There have been six party systems in U.S. history.

answer

false

question

The Whig Party's period of political domination came right after the Civil War.

answer

false

question

The New Deal Coalition broke down during the 1960s.

answer

true

question

Since the 1960s, the government has largely characterized party politics in the United States.

answer

true

question

Most third parties in the United States today originated during the nineteenth century.

answer

false

question

Most electoral districts in the United States are multimember districts.

answer

false

question

Each major party's national committee is responsible for nominating its party's candidates for all federal offices.

answer

false

question

What is the main difference between elections in a democracy and elections under an authoritarian regime?

answer

Democratic regimes allow for viable opposition, while the leaders do not permit themselves to lose under an authoritarian regime

question

Primary elections were introduced by the ______ in order to weaken the power of party leaders.

answer

Progressives

question

When are national elections held in the United States?

answer

the first Tuesday of November every other year

question

Which of the following political officers are subject to recall elections?

answer

the governor of the state of California

question

Plurality and majority systems tend to

answer

decrease the number of political parties

question

The result produced when voters cast a ballot for the president and then automatically vote for the remainder of that party's candidates is called the

answer

coattail effect

question

How many times in American history has the presidential candidate who won the most popular votes not been selected by the electoral college?

answer

3

question

Campaign consultants do all of the following except

answer

print ballots for the election

question

Who is the major audience for contemporary national conventions?

answer

the mass media

question

Which of the following has increased the ability of candidates to raise small contributions from tens of thousands of donors?

answer

the internet

question

The introduction of primary elections was meant to weaken political parties.

answer

true

question

By 2006, all fifty states had established referendums.

answer

false

question

No sitting politician has been recalled from office since the 1930s.

answer

false

question

Most national elections in the United States use a system of proportional representation.

answer

false

question

Redistricting was declared unconstitutional in the 1963 case Gray v. Sanders.

answer

false

question

Denying an individual the right to vote through literacy tests and poll taxes is called gerrymandering.

answer

false

question

The electoral college is a form of indirect voting.

answer

true

question

The electoral college cannot elect any candidate who has not also won the popular vote.

answer

false

question

Incumbents usually have an easier time successfully campaigning for office than non incumbents.

answer

true

question

Party conventions are held once every four years.

answer

true

question

The best description of the ideal of pluralism is that

answer

interests should be free to compete with each other for governmental influence

question

It is difficult for political scientists to categorize unrepresented interests because

answer

there are no organizations that can present their identities and demands

question

A benefit that is sought by an interest group and that once achieved cannot be denied to nonmembers is called a

answer

collective good

question

If one enjoys the benefits of a group's collective efforts but did not contribute to those efforts, one is called a

answer

free rider

question

Successful interest groups quickly become

answer

bureaucratized

question

Why is it important for interest groups to offer selective benefits?

answer

It is necessary to limit the extent of the free-rider problem

question

Which of the following groups is most likely to belong to the New Politics movement?

answer

upper-middle-class professionals, for whom the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s were key experiences

question

Lobbying is

answer

an attempt by an individual or group to influence the passage of legislation by exerting direct pressure on members of Congress or a state legislature

question

In the world of lobbyists, to be "Microsofted" has come to mean a company has

answer

become vulnerable to adverse legislation and investigation as a result of failing to lobby the federal government

question

When interest groups generate phony letters and phone calls in order to resemble a grassroots movement, this technique is called

answer

AstroTurf lobbying

question

Alexis de Tocqueville believed that the proliferation of groups was detrimental to a democracy.

answer

false

question

Money swapping is legal and is easy to prove.

answer

false

question

Grassroots lobbying has become a common practice in government over the past several decades.

answer

true

question

The iron triangle is a relationship that is established through repeated litigation of class-action suits.

answer

false

question

Interest groups are prohibited by federal law from lobbying administrative agencies.

answer

false

question

Except for laws against bribery, lobbyists are shielded from any legal regulations of their activities.

answer

false

question

The New Politics movement led to the proliferation of public interest groups in the 1970s.

answer

true

question

Interest groups tend to proliferate at times when government is shrinking.

answer

false

question

Interest groups have been a successful way to politically mobilize the poor and working classes in the United States.

answer

false

question

In order to increase enrollment, interest groups try to provide members with benefits that are unavailable to anyone else.

answer

true

question

The term public opinion is used to describe

answer

people's beliefs and attitudes toward different issues

question

The complex set of beliefs and values that, as a whole, form a general philosophy about the government is called

answer

political ideology

question

The "spiral of silence" describes the phenomenon of

answer

people who silence or modify their opinions in order to conform to their peer group's beliefs

question

What did James Madison identify as the greatest source of political conflict for the Untied States?

answer

differences between the rich and poor

question

The ability of citizens to influence their government through an awareness of and interest in politics is called

answer

political efficacy

question

Interest groups often spend time and money trying to shape public opinion.

answer

true

question

Calling randomly selected phone numbers is a good way for pollsters to reduce sampling errors.

answer

true

question

Push polling is a trend that has been decreasing over the years.

answer

false

question

The illusion of saliency can give politicians the mistaken impression that certain opinions are very important to people.

answer

true

question

Under the United States' political system, public policy will always coincide with the state of public opinion.

answer

false

question

The rioting during the 1999 WTO meeting in Seattle is a reminder of how

answer

politically motivated riots have been common in the United States throughout history

question

Litigation can be a form of participation in which people

answer

file lawsuits in order to change public policies

question

What is the best explanation for the fact that Latinos have tended to favor Democratic Party candidates in national elections?

answer

They disagree with the Republican Party's stance on immigration and economic issues

question

An example of the phenomenon called the "gender gap" would be that

answer

more women than men vote for Democrats

question

One explanation for the level of political participation that points to the characteristics of individuals as an important factor in determining the level of political participation is

answer

socioeconomic status

question

Rioting has been a rare form of political activity in the United States.

answer

false

question

Voting is the only form of political participation open to most Americans.

answer

false

question

Public relations and litigation can be forms of political activity.

answer

true

question

Participation in elections has decreased significantly since 2000.

answer

false

question

Suffragettes were women protesting for the right to vote.

answer

true

question

Throughout its history, American politics has been dominated by

answer

two major political parties

question

The Populist Party appealed to which of the following groups?

answer

western mining interests, small farmers, and urban workers

question

Which group was NOT a part of the New Deal coalition?

answer

business leaders

question

Which of the following phrases describes the change in voter affiliations with a particular political party that results in a long term dominance of that party over another party which previously dominated over a long period of time in national elections?

answer

an electoral realignment

question

Third parties in the United States typically represent

answer

social and economic interests that are disregarded by the two major parties for certain reasons

question

Donations made directly to political parties for voter registration and party organization are called soft money.

answer

true

question

Women are more likely than men to vote for the Democratic Party.

answer

true

question

Between the Civil War and the 1960s, the South was a bastion of support for the Democratic Party.

answer

true

question

At the national level, the Democratic Party seeks to unite organized labor, the poor, members of racial minorities, and upper-middle-class professionals.

answer

true

question

Strong political parties decrease voter turnout.

answer

false

question

When a congressional election is held that does not coincide with a presidential election, it is called a

answer

midterm election

question

Smaller and weaker parties are most likely to have electoral success under which system of elections?

answer

proportional representation system

question

If you voted for a Republican for president and a Democrat for senator, you engaged in

answer

split-ticket voting

question

What is the first step in running for president?

answer

the formation of an exploratory committee

question

Private groups that raise and distribute funds for election campaigns are called

answer

political action committees

question

In 1996, direct-mail campaigns were declared a violation of federal privacy laws by the Supreme Court.

answer

false

question

Contemporary campaigns are capital intensive, rather than labor intensive.

answer

true

question

A voter's partisan loyalty is at its highest in presidential races.

answer

false

question

Under the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United vs. FEC, corporations and labor unions are allowed to make contributions to political organizations without limits and are not required to disclose their contributions.

answer

true

question

Soft money is money spent by parties on organizational development and voter registration, which is not regulated as campaign expenditures.

answer

true

question

What contemporary political scientists call an interest group, James Madison called a(n)

answer

faction

question

Interest groups are concerned with the ______ of government, while political parties are concerned with the ______ of government.

answer

policies; personnel

question

Public interest groups differ from other types of interest groups in that

answer

they claim to serve the common good, not just their own particular interests

question

Which of the following statements about lobbyists and members of Congress is INCORRECT?

answer

Members of Congress are forbidden from ever working for an interest group once they leave office

question

An iron triangle is made up of an alliance between

answer

a legislative committee, an interest group, and an executive agency

question

The theory of pluralism states that all interests should be free to compete for influence and the result will be compromise and moderation.

answer

true

question

The American Bar Association is a good example of a labor group.

answer

false

question

Staff organizations are dependent on volunteers to conduct most of a group's activities.

answer

false

question

People who benefit from the work of an interest group but who do not them-selves contribute any effort or money are called free riders.

answer

true

question

As a result of the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Citizens United vs F.E.C., political action committees are no longer restricted in the amounts of money they may donate to political campaigns.

answer

true

Federal Government Unit 3 – Flashcards

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